By Daniel Nemukuyu
A Harare man forged a birth certificate for a child in a bid to prove that his wife was in an adulterous affair with the man whose name he put on the fake document as the father.
The Harare Civil Court referred the birth certificate to the Registrar-General’s Office after questions were raised, resulting in it being declared fake and the subsequent arrest of Jim Chibondokoto at the court on Tuesday.
Chibondokoto sued Timothy Masuka for adultery damages amounting to $10 000 at the Harare Civil Court.
He accused Masuka of having an adulterous affair with his wife, Ellah Mbengo.
The affair, Chibondokoto alleged, resulted in the birth of the minor child.
To buttress his claim, Chibondokoto produced the fake copy of the child’s birth certificate, showing Mbengo and Masuka as the parents.
Masuka, through his lawyer Mr Timon Tabana of Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, contested the genuineness of the document, arguing that he never acquired any birth certificate for the child in question.
The magistrate Mr Adonia Masawi referred the document to the RG’s Office for verification.
The RG’s Office this week dismissed the birth certificate as fake as it did not appear in the official records and recommended Chibondokoto’s arrest.
Mr Masawi on Tuesday ordered Chibondokoto’s arrest, who was then escorted to the police post at the court premises for questioning.
The adultery matter is still pending at the court.
Chibondokoto is suing Masuka for siring a child with his former wife and wrecking his marriage of more than 18 years.
He told the court that he discovered the ‘illicit affair’ when he came across a birth certificate stating that Masuka was the father of their fourth child.
Chibondokoto, Masuka and Mbengo used to attend the same church and Chibondokoto believes the ‘adulterous’ affair had gone on for a long time.
“I want him to pay for destroying my marriage,” said Chibondokoto during the court proceedings.
“We had been married for over 18 years and I thought we had four children together. Just last year, I got to find out, through our fourth child’s birth certificate, that he is the father.”
Masuka is denying wrecking the said marriage, saying he never had sex with Mbengo.
“Defendant was and is not engaged in an adultery affair with plaintiff’s wife,” reads part of the defendant’s plea.
“He never had a sexual relationship with plaintiff’s wife as alleged or at all.
“Defendant does not have any child by the name . . . and does not know any such child, otherwise plaintiff is put to his strict proof thereof.”
The relationship, according to Chibondokoto, started in 2008 and dragged up to the time the summons were issued.
He also alleged that Masuka was now cohabiting with his wife at a rented house in the city.
Chibondokoto is claiming $5 000 for contumelia and another $5 000 for loss of consortium. The Herald
